Doped Up America

Fastpaces's blog is very boring.

Had no idea Brazil had an increase in crack cocaine use. I would have thought it would have decreased like in did in the USA.

Sao Paul, Brazil apparently has had an area like LA's Skid Row. Frightening existence. But for all the corruption and problems in Sao Paulo I'm happy to see they at least made some movement to improve the area. Unlike the City of LA with Skid Row. And Brazil is a Developing country :lol:. Sao Paulo, apparently, at least at the time of the filming of this video started giving the crack addicts free living quarters in hostels (run down, looks like some run down rooming houses I've been in in Milwaukee) and small incomes for doing jobs like street cleaning.

My only problem with the looks of their program on this video is that it looks done in half measure. If it even qualifies for the term "half," probably more like a tenth. But that more than LA has done. A city run by American liberals that had a black President in the White House and is city as wealthy as some of the richest countries in Europe. And these American liberal leaders have the brain the size of a pea and the ability of a mentally challenged child in South America. Or they simply don't care. I'm hazarding a guess it is a combination of both.

Published on May 22, 2014

Brazil's Congress is considering new legislation that will increase penalties for drug traffickers and lead to forced treatment of some addicts. The number of crack cocaine addicts in the country has risen by a factor of ten over the past decade. And now, there's a profound disagreement about how to tackle the problem. CCTV's Stephen Gibbs has this report from Sao Paulo.

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But capitalism with monetary rewards, as well as a the White House or higher authority ready to chew a mayor's or Governor's ear off if they get embarrassed internationally when tourist flood in, might motivate LA's liberal city leaders to clean up Skid Row by time the Olympics come. I think LA will be hosting it if I remember correctly.

Notice the crack addict in Sao Paulo said "the Europeans" don't like to see this. He didn't say "the Americans" or "...and Americans." Both Brazil and the USA have a similar history. The Republicans just slashed funding for homeless veterans programs, giving notice to some facilities that have about 3 months to vacate their facilities. :lol: But I bet they can always magically find money for a government welfare program of war or welfare funding South Korea's military defense and all the other hundreds of bases across planet earth they have. Kind of like Rio and Brazil did not have the money try and develop their infrastructure and demolition some slums and rebuild.... until by magic the money was accessible when Rio was going to host the Olympics. Magic.

calamity said:

All the rage around these parts: Ohio; is the epidemic of overdose deaths. The spike in death really is a problem, but drugs are not really a new problem. In fact, when it comes to the USA, drugs are us.

Think about it.

How many people do you know that are 100% drug and alcohol free? Personally, I can count on one hand those who are not on some kind of prescription mood modifying drug or pain killer, people who do not drink at least 3 drinks more than 5 times a week or more than 5 drinks at least 3 times a week, pot heads, coke heads, pot and coke heads, etc. It seems to me almost everyone in the US has a drug problem.

Why is that? Is life that crappy? I would think the opposite. Life is good. But, the stats seem to suggest that maybe it is too good. After all, why else would everyone want to dope themselves up, or drink away their life?

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It is the American life style it does appear. Muslims and Buddhists have no need to delve into drugs and alcohol unlike you Americans.

Glowpun said:

It is the American life style it does appear. Muslims and Buddhists have no need to delve into drugs and alcohol unlike you Americans.

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Perhaps it would be more accurate to say "western life style"? Your point is generally good, but those in the east including China had opium as part of their culture more than a century ago.

Thoreau72 said:

Perhaps it would be more accurate to say "western life style"? Your point is generally good, but those in the east including China had opium as part of their culture more than a century ago.

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China did not want opium, that was forced by the UK as a way to balance trade. So the UK was for a period of time a narco state but unlike Columbia the drug pushing was legal and pushed by the government

Lord Tammerlain said:

China did not want opium, that was forced by the UK as a way to balance trade. So the UK was for a period of time a narco state but unlike Columbia the drug pushing was legal and pushed by the government

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Agreed, but for better or for worse, there was a time when the use of opium (smoked) had some cultural significance.

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/isis-linked-stimulant-captagon-more-dangerous-previously-thought-172704928--abc-news-topstories.html

ISIS-linked stimulant Captagon more dangerous than previously thought, scientists say

[Good Morning America]
MORGAN WINSOR
Good Morning AmericaAugust 18, 2017

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A banned amphetamine-type stimulant linked to substance abuse in the Middle East and said to be favored by ISIS is more potent than previously thought, scientists said Wednesday.

Fenethylline, also known by its brand name Captagon, is a combination of amphetamine, a stimulant, and theophylline, a drug traditionally used to treat respiratory diseases such as asthma. The latter greatly enhances the former's psychoactive properties, making the codrug a powerful amphetamine, according to scientists from the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, who published their findings in the journal Nature on Wednesday.

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Captagon has been around for a while, Wenthur noted. It was used therapeutically before it became illegal in the United States and most countries in the 1980s. But the study's findings may explain why the illicit stimulant has gained popularity in recent years and is abused by young people in the Middle East.

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Kim Janda, who co-led the Scripps Research Institute team on the study, said he first became interested in Captagon after it had made headlines around the world as a potential performance-enhancing stimulant and source of "pharmacological morale" for ISIS fighters.

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"Pharmacological morale"?

Never heard that one before.

You mean they are high?

:lol:

That's called a euphemism, or perhaps a propaganda term?

calamity said:

pot heads... It seems to me almost everyone in the US has a drug problem.

Why is that?

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It is illegal to grow it...:mrgreen:

Thoreau72 said:

Perhaps it would be more accurate to say "western life style"? Your point is generally good, but those in the east including China had opium as part of their culture more than a century ago.

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The opium problem was generated by the English who needed more money.

Glowpun said:

The opium problem was generated by the English who needed more money.

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Needed, or wanted?

Surely the British deserve some measure of blame for those Opium Wars, but the stuff was cultivated in China before the Brits took advantage of it. My only point is that, to whatever degree, the Chinese cultivated and used opium before the Brits arrived.

Happened across this while looking for news stories on ABC covering the Saudi meeting with Russia. Came as a bit of a surprise to me. Brazil--supposedly--is now the #1 consumer of crack cocaine in the world. While the use of it in the United States has declined, apparently it (crack specifically) has risen in use in Brazil. It's not just Sao Paulo with the "Crackland," they are in Rio apparently too.


Sao Paulo struggles to end 'Crackland' drug market - ABC News

Sao Paulo struggles to end 'Crackland' drug market

By sarah dilorenzo, associated press

SAO PAULO — Oct 9, 2017, 12:05 AM ET

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Brazil is likely the world's largest market for crack cocaine, according to the U.S. State Department. Its largest city, Sao Paulo is home to intense poverty and homelessness and to the nation's biggest criminal organization, which plays a vital role in moving cocaine from the Andes producer countries to the streets of Europe. Those factors provide Crackland with both its supply of the drug and ample demand for it among Sao Paulo's downtrodden and homeless.

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Nice looking young lady in the photo too.

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Looking at this video, they appear to be selling more pure and concentrated (dark yellow), and larger sized crack rocks in Brazil at a fraction of the price in the United States. And apparently, the dealers in Brazil still make profits. Which further leads me to believe the prohibition in the US which reduces supply, dramatically increases the price, which has a effect of eating away at the users money even faster (if say 1 cigarette goes for $10 a pop rather than $1 or $0.50 a pop, so 10 cigarettes would cost the user $100 rather than $10).